Control shed air quality and floor moisture as feed consumption reaches 46g/bird and water intake increases to 82ml/bird. Remove all remaining brooder paper, rake and turn surface litter around drinker lines to prevent capping, balance minimum ventilation timers to control ammonia, and prepare equipment for the Day 7 milestone weigh-in.
As water consumption doubles from Day 2, excess moisture and fecal output can rapidly degrade litter quality. Maintaining dry litter on Day 6 prevents footpad dermatitis, hock burns, and ammonia damage to the respiratory tract.
•Restricting ventilation to conserve heat, leading to high humidity, wet litter, and ammonia accumulation.
•Allowing wet caked litter under drinkers to remain without turning or replacing with dry shavings.
•Ignoring minor drinker leaks that saturate litter beneath nipple lines.
•Inspect the footpads of 30 chicks; zero footpad lesions (pododermatitis) should be present at Day 6 — early lesions indicate damp litter management failure.
•Never treat early respiratory sounds with unprescribed antibiotics; request veterinary diagnosis to differentiate between environmental dust/ammonia irritation and viral challenges like Infectious Bronchitis.
•Maintain strict biosecurity: sanitize boots before stepping between house pens and ensure foot dip solution is fresh.
•Use the litter squeeze test daily: take a handful of litter and squeeze tightly. If it forms a muddy ball that stays together, it is too wet (>30% moisture); if it crumbles gently apart upon opening your hand, it is ideal (20–25%).
•Always stand at chick height for 2 minutes during ventilation fan cycles to confirm there are no cold drafts striking the birds.
Use properly cycled minimum ventilation fans with timer controls (e.g. 60 seconds ON, 180 seconds OFF) paired with directional ceiling air inlets. Inlets should direct cold incoming air along the ceiling to mix with warm rising air before reaching chick level, purging moisture and ammonia without chilling the floor.
Pick up a handful of litter from under and between feeder/drinker lines and squeeze it firmly in your fist. If water drips out or it remains a dense sticky clump, moisture is above 30% and needs immediate ventilation/turning. If it holds shape momentarily then crumbles apart easily, moisture is within the ideal 20–25% range.
